Liverpool hold the advantage over Celtic after a pulsating UEFA Cup quarter-final, first leg encounter at Parkhead.
The game started at a frantic pace with just 13 seconds on the clock, John Hartson rattled the Liverpool crossbar after Chris Sutton knocked the ball into his path. That should have shocked the Liverpool defence into life, but they were caught napping again after just two minutes when Henrik Larsson opened the scoring.
Larsson, starting his first game in a month after recovering from a broken jaw, took full advantage of some unusually poor Liverpool defending to nip in at the back post and bundle Alan Thompson's pass into the net.
Liverpool responded well and steadily came into the game - Danny Murphy should have done better after he shot over from outside the box following some neat build-up play for Jamie Carragher and Michael Owen. However, they were back on level terms on 16 minutes.
John Arne Riise scampered away from the challenge of Neil Lennon and went on a mazey run that ended with him threading the ball into the path of Emile Heskey, who duly fired the ball low past Douglas and into the bottom corner of the net from a tight angle.
That goal seemed to knock the wind out of Celtic and Liverpool took control - Steven Gerrard was particularly effective in midfield, while El Hadji Diouf caused no end of problems for the Hoops on the right flank. However, Celtic stood firm at the back and ensured that the sides went in level at the break.
The second-half started just as the first ended, with Liverpool bossing the midfield, however Celtic had a glorious chance to take the lead on 53 minutes when Hartson put Larsson clear through on goal, however Dudek got his angles spot-on and deflected the Swede's effort behind for a corner.
Liverpool then nearly made Celtic pay the price for that miss when Diouf broke away down the right before clipping it back into the path of Gerarrd, only to see the midfielder direct the ball wide of Douglas' post.
The game seem to trail off after chance, with both sides seemingly happy to settle for the draw. However there was time for another moment of controversy, as Diouf, who had been outstanding all night, appeared to spit in the direction of Celtic supporters after he fell into the crowd while chasing the ball.
Despite that incident, Liverpool manager Houllier declared himself happy with the result. "We didn't start the way we wanted - but give credit to the players. They came back with character and composure and didn't lose their shape - or chase the game. I thought it was a terrific game and a good cup-tie and a fair result. But it's just half-time - we've got 90 minutes to play at Anfield next week - if not more. But scoring away is important," he said.
His Celtic counterpart Martin O'Neill was also upbeat, despite conceding an away goal. "It was a fantastic effort by the team. Liverpool have players of proven quality and won this competition two years ago - but we're not out of this by a long shot," he said.
"Deep down you can pick instances here and there - but I was absolutely delighted by the commitment of the side. After Liverpool equalised our heads went down for five minutes but in the second half we got roused. But it's only half-time - and we're still in this tie."
Filed by Rob Wright
